I do not in any way, shape, or form, own Naruto.

Chapter One

Two and a half years later…

Minato sat on the engawa at the back of the house, feet dangling over the edge. It was a beautiful, sunny day in the village hidden in the leaves, and he was enjoying the fact that at the moment, he was the only one home. Hakuku-oji was off on a mission, and it was Chiasa-oba who looked after him at these times. She was a loving, but mostly inattentive woman, and he could spend hours doing whatever he wanted before his oji-san came home.

Chiasa-oba was his favourite aunt.

Today, Minato was spending the afternoon doing nothing. Hakuku-oji had had him working on his stamina and kunai accuracy before he'd left, but now he was getting a well deserved (in his opinion) break from that. His oji-san could be a real task master with the more physical side of teaching him, but it always paid off. And soon, he was going to be taking the gennin test, so he could get his own hitai-ate! Hakuku-oji would be escorting him up to the Academy so that he could take the test with the other children there. He was rather excited, and had kept annoying Hakuku-oji with constant questions.

There were a few things he'd learned over the years that he really enjoyed, like sealing, and training his chakra senses. Minato was a sensor, so Hakuku-oji had told him. It was why he always knew where to find him, and also Toru whenever he wanted. It made him so good at the 'seeking' part of playing ninja, that Toru always demanded pinky promises from him not to 'cheat'.

Closing his eyes, Minato allowed his senses to roam the village. His range encompassed the entire village, and a bit beyond, though when he'd started, he'd barely been able to sense half the Sarutobi compound. But now he could sense Hokage-ojii-sama in his tower, and even Asuma-oji at the Akimichi barbeque. Toru was at the training grounds (he'd graduated already), and Chiasa-oba had apparently gone out to the markets.

It was fun to guess what people might be like based on their chakra signatures. He could tell when someone was civilian, because of how small their chakra was. Their undeveloped coils gave it away. And he could tell who at the Academy were students, and who were senseis. There was a chakra once that felt like a raging torrent of rain, and another that was like a sprinkling of dust in your face when you went to the beach.

That was the nature affinities of those people, or so Hakuku-oji told him.

As he extended his senses, he found a chakra signature that was nothing like any of the others he'd sensed. Everyone's chakra was different, but at the end of the day, followed simple rules. This one decidedly did not. It… it was as if there were two people in one body, because the dual chakras he sensed from it were so incredibly diametrically opposed, that he didn't know how the person was even functioning!

He'd come across this signature a few times before. It was easy to find, because compared to everyone else in the village, it was loud. The one half of it was so bright, so sunny and joyful, even though the other half was dark, oppressive, and full of rage. Minato was quite frankly fascinated, and wanted to meet this person. The one time he'd mentioned it to Hakuku-oji, the man had looked surprised. He'd then pursed his lips and told him 'no'. His oji-san's chakra had become so tumultuous and distressed, that he hadn't wanted to say anything again to upset him over it.

But… Hakuku-oji wasn't here right now. And… Chiasa-oba was in the village. It was easy enough to lose his ANBU guards as well. He had no idea why he even had them, but they'd been there for as long as he could remember. Only ever the three, and he knew all of them were Sarutobi. Kazuki-oji, Seiji-oji, and cousin Kaito. It was his cousin on guard today.

Minato had snuck off before of course, and had received quite the lecture from Hakuku-oji about it. If he were to sneak out today… this would be the third time. Generally, he was fine with staying in the compound, or with Toru, or a responsible adult if he did go outside the compound. But today… He stood up. He was definitely doing this!

Minato went back into the house, keeping a close eye on what Kaito-san was doing. The best way to sneak out was on the west side of the house, where a thicket of bamboo provided the perfect cover. A clone provided a distraction, it would let his cousin see him on the other side of the house. Once that was done, Minato quietly slid open the shoji, keeping all of his senses alert, before making a quick but silent dash from the house.

Once past the bamboo, he had to avoid being seen by anyone, especially adults. It was difficult, and twice he was almost caught, but managed to get away unseen. His blood rushed in his ears each time, but eventually he made it to the edge of the compound and out into the village. He let out a whoosh of breath, then looked around. The chakra he sensed was further in towards the centre, and it was moving about, so Minato channelled chakra to his feet, and took to the rooftops.

He loved the feeling of going so fast, the wind in his hair.

The strange chakra was also fast, and a few times, Minato was sure he had them, but then they were gone. It was frustrating, but he stuck with it. There were others hot on the person's tail, a few chuunin, and strangely enough, a couple of ANBU. Finally the signature stopped in one place, and Minato leapt down into an alley, watching the chuunin rush past.

"Where is he?"

"Naruto! Get back here!"

"You're in so much trouble for this!"

There was a giggle, and Minato looked over to see a part of a fence disappear and a kid about his age appeared. This was the one with the large chakra? But he was such… a shrimp.

"Ha ha ha!" the boy laughed. "They'll never catch me, the great Uzumaki Naruto!"

Uzumaki?

"Oh really?" a voice said, and Minato startled a little at it (though not as much as 'Naruto' did).

"Aah! Iruka-sensei!" Naruto yelled. "I-I uh… I can explain!"

"Oh really?" this Iruka-sensei asked. "You're going to explain to me why you're out here playing hooky in the village, instead of in class where you're supposed to be?"

"I-er-uh…"

The Academy? So he was a student there, like Toru, then? Minato wondered if his cousin knew him, and made a mental note to ask him.

"I really don't have time to spare to keep chasing you down, Naruto," Iruka-sensei was saying as he grabbed Naruto by the scruff. "You need to learn to sit still in class, and stay put!"

The Academy sensei dragged a loudly complaining Naruto off then, leaving Minato alone in the street.

Uzumaki Naruto. Uzumaki. Minato had read about the Uzumaki clan, and knew that they had larger than normal chakra reserves, but he hadn't thought that it would be that large. He supposed it did explain what he sensed from him. Well, half of it, at least. He still had no idea what that malevolent chakra was that Naruto had.

Minato was about to step out of the alley, intent on going home now that he'd satisfied his curiosity. But then he stopped when he sensed a new chakra. A shinobi in jounin attire landed in the street where Naruto had been, staring off in the direction that Iruka-sensei had dragged him off to. This shinobi's chakra was sharp, like a blade, and honed with a static edge. A lightning affinity then. The man was tall, taller than Hakuku-oji, though not as well built as him. He had silver hair that seemed to defy gravity, though Minato thought he didn't look old enough for grey hair. A family trait, perhaps?

The man's posture was slightly slouched, and there was an orange book in his hand, held loosely, and open like he'd just been reading it. His slouch reminded him a little of a Nara, though not as natural as theirs. It would still put off the average person, civilian or ninja, and probably make them overlook or even underestimate him. There was something about him though, that set off a strange sense of familiarity that he couldn't explain…

As Minato stared, the shinobi suddenly tensed, and looked over in his direction. Had he sensed him? The man turned, and he saw that he wore a mask over his face, with his hitai-ate covering one eye, leaving little of his face exposed. The one visible eye darted over where Minato stood hidden, and he could have sworn he saw the man sniff the air for a second.

"Maa," the shinobi drawled. "It's not polite to hide in alleyways. I would think you were trying to sneak up on me. That's not very nice. Why don't you come out of there?"

Hesitating only briefly, Minato stepped out of the alley, noting the slight widening of the man's visible eye, before his face became just as much of a mask as the one he wore. "A kid, huh?" the shinobi said. "And judging by your chakra, and lack of hitai-ate… Shouldn't you be in classes at the Academy right now, kid?"

"I don't go to the Academy," Minato told him simply.

"Really?" the nin asked, his tone stressing that he didn't really believe him.

Nodding, Minato told him, "I've been privately tutored at home."

"And where is home?" he asked. "Shouldn't you be there right now?"

Minato shrugged. "Hakuku-oji is away on a mission," he said. "I just wanted… to get out into the village for a bit."

He wasn't sure if he should let him know about following Naruto's chakra…

"Hakuku?" the nin asked. "As in Sarutobi Hakuku?"

Minato nodded. "Hakuku-oji raised me from when I was a baby, after my parents died," he said.

"And… who were your parents?" the shinobi asked, but Minato shrugged.

"I don't know," he admitted.

The man sighed. "Well, come on, I'll get you home," he said. "And then I think I need to go pay the Hokage a visit…"

The man placed a hand on his shoulder, obviously intent on ushering him off to the Sarutobi compound. But as soon as he did, Minato stiffened. It… it was like a light bulb flashed briefly in his head at the direct contact to the man's chakra, and he saw… he saw… he saw…

He walked along the corridor to the Hokage's office, noting the small child on the chair just outside. He looked familiar, then he realised that it was Sakumo's kid, Kakashi. Frowning, he wondered what he was doing here, but didn't stop to ask him, since the Hokage was waiting for him. He knocked on the door, entering when he heard his Kage call out.

"Ah, Minato," the Sandaime greeted upon seeing him. "I'm glad you're here."

"You wanted to see me, Hokage-sama?" he asked, closing the door behind him.

"Yes. I'm sure you saw the child just outside, correct?" Minato nodded, and the Hokage continued, "Hatake Kakashi has recently graduated, and I want you to take him on as your personal student."

"Me?" Minato asked in surprise.

"Yes, you," Sarutobi confirmed. "I know that you knew his father, though not as well as your sensei did. But it was one of Sakumo's last official requests that you become his son's teacher after he graduated."

"So... I'm to teach Kakashi?" he asked.

The Hokage nodded. "Do you accept this responsibility?" he asked.

Minato glanced briefly towards the door, thinking of how small Kakashi had looked… He turned back to the Hokage. "I accept," he said with a bow…

Gasping, Minato pulled his shoulder away, staring up at the shinobi, even as he clutched at his head. "Are you alright?" the man asked.

Minato just stared and stared at him, trying to make sense of what happened. Finally, he whispered out one word, a word that brought a whole new lot of confusion to him, especially with reaction the shinobi had to it.

"…Kakashi?"

Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated. :)